It's a Dangerous Game
by Ikuni Hattori
Summary: It was all just a game, wasn't it? At least that's what Tooth thought. But when Pitch plays, he plays for keeps. CAVITY FLUFF


Title: It's a Dangerous Game

Author: Ikuni Hattori

Tumblr: fearlingcontrolled

Genre: Fluff

Words: 2111

Pairing: Cavity [Pitch/Toothiana]

Fandom: Rise of the Guardians

Rating: PG

Summary: It was all just a game, wasn't it? At least that's what Tooth thought. But when Pitch plays, he plays for keeps.

* * *

It started out as a game. A silly little game of tag, a bet that they had made. A few hours after midnight, the King of Nightmares had approached her with a grin. A few choice words later saw Toothiana rising in indignation, flying right into his hands.

"Prove me wrong, then," he had told her. It was something petty, the argument, but it was enough for her to agree to a game of tag. It would go on all night, and once dawn broke, whoever wasn't "It" would be the winner, and could ask one thing of the loser.

Toothiana was determined not to lose.

Confined to the town they had met in that night, Pitch let her flee first. He had promised to not use his shadows to locate her, nor hide in them when it was her turn to seek. The Fairy Queen doubted he would adhere to those rules, so it surprised her when it took him over an hour to find her. And since it was a game of tag, as long as she could outfly him until morning, she could win.

Pitch suddenly zoomed past her hiding spot, and she couldn't help the gasp she let out in surprise. He was suddenly in front of her, a toothy grin on his face as he reached out and tapped her on the nose. "You're it." Tooth was stunned for just a moment, but it was long enough for him to disappear. With a screech, Tooth tore after him.

It was a chase of cat and mouse, if the mouse ever gained enough courage to chase after the cat. Pitch was toying with her, that much she knew. He didn't even bother hiding, he merely rode his Nightmares, and was always a few feet ahead of her. He made her fly to her limit, and never seemed to get tired. It was so unfair!

He, however, stuck to the rules, and she couldn't yell at him for that.

He suddenly stopped short, and Tooth slammed right into him, him turning so she crashed into his chest, shoving him off of his mare. They were up quite high, so when they dropped the two stories to the ground, Pitch let off a grunt as he took the brunt of the fall.

"Well, that's one way to guarantee a win," he wheezed, taking a moment to regain his breath. Shocked, it took Tooth a moment to realize that Pitch was now it. She was up off of him and gone before he could pick himself up. It took him a little longer this time to find her, and Toothiana couldn't help but feel guilty but glad at the same time. Had she injured him with that fall? She wasn't entirely sure how fast his healing ability was.

She was hiding in a tree, her plumage in the dark blending in perfectly with the leaves. Judging by the position of the moon in the sky and the lightening horizon, dawn was vastly approaching. She might just win this!

"Your hiding places are getting craftier and craftier," Pitch's voice said from below her. She let out a little screech as she jumped, clinging to the branches as she looked down at him. "You look good enshrouded in darkness." There was a grin on his face, and she jumped at him, mistakenly thinking that she was 'it' since he had found her. She had forgotten he hadn't tagged her yet.

It was was understandably a surprise to her when his arms wrapped around her instead of avoiding her like she thought he would.

"Do you want me to win?" he asked her, raising a brow before detangling from her and taking a few steps away. Her own brows furrowed before her eyes widened in horror.

She had messed up, and Pitch knew it, too. His grin told her that much.

He took off, not even bothering to see if she chased after him, a laugh falling from his lips.

The Fairy Queen took off after him like her life depended on it. And for all she knew, if he won, her life truly would depend on it. He fled towards the brightening horizon, the sky beginning to turn pink as the sun began its ascent. For a moment, Toothiana felt horror surge through her. What would happen if Pitch went into direct sunlight?!

Putting on a burst of speed, she sped up, her wings straining as she tried to reach the Nightmare King just ahead of her. He looked back to see her gaining on him, so he urged his mount to go faster, the gap between them widening. Worry gnawed at her heart, her gaze flickering between the lightening horizon and the man made of darkness.

The sun crested over the horizon, casting light over the land, and Pitch stopped short, his hand outstretched, a wave of black sand rising up to create a barrier between him and the light. She flew faster to catch up with him, and stopped just short of him, her eyes wide, her breath panting.

"And I believe that makes me the winner of our little game," Pitch stated with a grin. Tooth pulled back a little, suddenly on guard.

"Yes. Yes, it does," she replied sourly. When he made no motion to approach her, Tooth flew closer and landed, just out of his arm's reach. "What do you want then?" she asked. Worry blossomed inside of her at what he would want. Secrets about the Guardians? Her allegiance? Her death? The death of one of her friends by her own hand?

"I want you to sleep with me," came his even reply.

"WHAT?!" she screeched, rustling a few birds out of the top of a nearby tree from the volume. "No way! I am not having-"

"Not like that, you daft woman," Pitch interrupted her quickly with a scowl. "No, I want you to sleep with me, not have sex with me. By the stars, what have you and the Guardians been _doing_?!" Before she could answer, he quickly added, "No. Don't answer. I don't want to know!" He gave a sigh before explaining. "You, me, a bed somewhere, and sleep. Contact may or may not be involved, nothing sexual is guaranteed." Confusion clouded her expression. "And I sleep during the day, of course. I am sure your girls can deal without you for one day."

She hesitated for a moment, thrown by exactly what it was that he was asking for. "Why?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it. It's not some nefarious plot I might have thought up. It is just I asking for one night." There were a few moments of silence between them.

". . .I know I'm going to regret this, but. . .alright. When do you want me to show up?" Tooth asked, every instinct of hers screaming at her to say no. But, she gave her word on this bet.

"One hour, my lair. I will have my shadows let you in," he told her, and for a moment the Fairy Queen thought his expression could have softened for a just a moment. It disappeared just as quickly as it had arrived, making her doubt whether she had seen it at all or not.

"I'll be there," she replied quietly, and Pitch nodded his head.

"I'll see you there." He was gone, his shield of darkness disappearing with him.

* * *

Toothiana knew she was going to regret honoring her word, but she was a Queen. Her word was law. An hour later saw her flying into the woods, finding the hole that had reappeared months after Pitch had been pulled down it. It was small, almost so small that she couldn't fit into it, and she was hesitant to approach the opening at all.

A sound off to the side caught her attention, and she looked to see a cave carved into a large rock, the darkness thick a few inches in. A dark hand extended from the shadows, _was_ the shadows, and beckoned her forward. Swallowing thickly, she followed its direction, and stepped inside of the cave, one second in the forest, the next standing in Pitch's throne room with him nowhere to be seen. With a scowl, she fluttered after her shadowy escort as it led her down a few hallways before they reached a large, ornate door. Knocking a few times, the door opened, and the shadow bowed, letting her go through. Tooth advanced hesitantly, and as soon as she had entered the room enough, the door shut behind her. The Queen whirled around to look at the shut door, and when she turned back, she saw Pitch emerging from a door on the other side of the room, a towel over his head as he dried his hair. He wore only a pair of black pj pants, his chest bare, and Tooth wasn't sure if she wanted to look away or keep watching.

Pitch suddenly spotted her as he pulled the towel down, surprise on his face. "You're here," he mentioned in surprise. "I didn't think you would show up." Tooth bristled indignantly.

"_I_ keep my word," she replied chilly, and Pitch gave a small chuckle, disarming her.

"Yes, I suppose you would." He strode the full length of the large room, skirting around his bed that was in the middle so he had to stride closer to her. Tooth got a full whiff of whatever scents he used in the bath, and she had to beat her wings just a little more, her knees going weak. Whatever it was, it made him smell good.

Tooth shook her head to clear it, watching as Pitch reached the hamper to throw the towel inside. Snaring a comb off of the dresser next to it, he ran it through his damp hair a few times before tossing it back down onto the dresser. He looked at Tooth through the mirror.

"Thank you for showing up," he told her quietly, and she nodded at him.

"You're welcome," she replied just as quietly, regaining her senses now that he was further away from her. Pitch turned and headed for the bed, upturning the covers before sliding in. He then held the blankets up, as an invitation.

"Come on," he called out to her, his eyes locked on hers, and she flew towards the bed. Landing on her feet and letting her wings rest, Tooth folded them back, ruffling her feathers a bit as she got used to the feeling of being on her feet again. Once she was settled, she climbed into the bed and tried to lay as far away from him as possible. It was easy, since the bed was very large, possibly able to fit all of the Guardians and not have any of them touch, so it confused her when Pitch's arm snaked out and wrapped around her waist to pull her to him. She let out a little squeak of surprise as his chest pressed against her back, and his scent suddenly wrapped around her, the blankets settling warmly on top of them. The Nightmare King's nose buried itself into the crook of her neck, and when he sighed, his breath tickled her feathers.

"What are you-?" she tried to ask him, but he just gave a grumble in reply.

"Sleep now, questions later, please," he mumbled out. Tooth pouted for a moment before giving in.

"Fine. But when we wake, you are answering all of my questions!" she stated. Tooth felt him nod against her.

"It's a deal."

It took a while, but Pitch fell asleep long before she did, his body curling around hers, heating her, enveloping her with his scent.

She should have denied this entire bet from the start. Because as Pitch cuddled her closer in his sleep, Tooth couldn't mistake her heart speeding up for fear. She couldn't pretend that the flush on her cheeks was from anger. This was a side she hadn't seen from him before, that she was sure none of the Guardians had seen before. Was this all a trick? Was he trying to lure her into a false sense of security?

If it was, it was working. And when she woke up the next morning, not remembering when she fell asleep, with her arms wrapped around him and their breaths mingling, she was in danger of harboring affection for the Nightmare King.

And as Pitch, in a waking state, groaned and pulled her closer, burying his face into her chest as his body curled around hers, Tooth thought she wouldn't exactly mind it.


End file.
